dreaming of the past
by minecraftfezzez
Summary: eleventh doctor and the inception team. after the inception movie. based on the fault in inception that Cobalt never stopped hunting Cobb down. Cobb get's a last assignment from Cobalt engineering. a man named the doctor, yet what happens when they're inside his mind is far from normal.
1. back in bussiness

**this story is based on a quite big fault in inception: Cobalt never stopped hunting Cobb down, also that the synchronised dreaming works by psychic network.**

Cobb waked up, staring at the white ceiling. He closed his eyes again, happy to be reunited with his children, yet afraid again. Yesterday Cobalt engineering started hunting him down again. He had no idea why and hoped they soon stopped. he asked his dad to take care of the kids for the week to be sure they weren't in harms way. After one month he had to leave them again.  
after 5 minutes he finally got out of bed and showered. thinking about ways how he could hide or fight of the company. as he went to have breakfast he noticed someone had been inside. Cobb looked around him. with great caution he took out his gun and went to the backyard. There he was greeted by three agents, each one holding a gun at him. Cobb cursed and looked behind him, seeing three more.

"Drop the gun."  
Cobb froze, not looking in the direction of the voice. only one time he has heard it, just before he started the mission with Saito.  
"I said drop the gun, Cobb."  
Cobb slowly looked behind him. laying the gun on the ground, seeing the boss of Cobalt engineering.  
"Why are you still chasing me? Aren't there other agents to track down?"  
"I'm afraid you and your team are the only one fit for the job." the voice of his boss darkened.  
"Am i offered a choice?"  
"If you consider dying a choice."

Typical Cobalt. Cobb cursed under his breath, he stared a moment to his boss, trying to see what job he would be given.  
"Who is it?"  
"We don't know."  
Cobb was confused. Why didn't they know their target?  
"What do you mean you don't know?"  
His boss took a map out of his jacket, ignoring Cobb's question.

"In here is all the information we have about him. you will find your team in the building where you carried out Saito's mission. If we see you have not started the project this week. we will find you. However, if you succeed. you'll have enough money to retire immediately."

He threw the map before Cobb's feet.

Cobb stood there. looking at the map on the ground as all the agents left. partly happy that he had a chance to sort it out with Cobalt forever, partly sad he had to break his promise to never do this again, but in general scared. Who was this man? And why was he so important?


	2. the team together

After getting off the plane Cobb directly headed for the building where his friends would be kept. He hoped to never see it again. too many memories of Mal. once inside he saw nothing. Cobb walked to the middle of the room, gun ready, prepared if it was a trap.  
"thank you for accepting the mission, mister Cobb."

Cobb directly aimed his gun at the direction of the voice, in the shadows. his boss stood together with agents holding his team, all handcuffed.  
"Here are the keys." said his boss, throwing an envelope. "Now that i know you are willing to do this mission i ask you one thing. That one thing that this team managed to do."  
Cobb looked in fear. hoping that what he thought he meant wasn't true "inception..."  
"Indeed mister Cobb. The man in the files is now our greatest enemy. I hope you manage to make him our greatest friend. Oh, and before i go, remember. We will be keeping a close eye on you."  
Cobb's boss left. his agents following him. As they were out of the room Cobb hurried to the envelope and started unlocking the handcuffs.

Arthur looked worried at him. "Who does he mean?"  
Cobb finished the last handcuff before showing Arthur the map.  
"A man called the doctor. he broke into Cobalt engineering."  
"Impossible." Eames looked skeptical at Cobb.  
"I'm afraid it's true." Arthur was reading the files. his face filled with amazement and fear.

The doctor was sitting in a chair. looking at the console. his face filled with sadness. his eyes had lost their usual glimmer. on the screen there was only one thing to see. the most confidential file from Cobalt engineering. carrying the names of all the friends he lost, including date and location.


	3. thirteen faces

"So all he took was one file. what is wrong with that?"  
Cobb looked at Eames. "Well. it seems that the information is so classified, no one is allowed to read it."  
"except who?"  
"Well, that is also classified."  
"Really?"  
Yusuf joined in the conversation "So all we know is that this file exists?"  
"Shall we continue with the things we really do know?" Ariadne said. holding one of the papers above her head.  
Arthur got up, walking to the whiteboard in the center of the circle of chairs, pointing at one of the pictures of the security cameras. "We know his clothing is weird. long purple jacket. waistcoat and bowtie. extreme combover, yet isn't bald. Around the age of 28?"

"How did he break in?" Yusuf was looking at the page concerning this matter when he said this.  
Arthur and Cobb looked at each other meaningful before answering. "he appeared in a blue box. a blue police telephone box found in the 1950."  
Arthur gave Eames the security footage.  
"you mean it just appeared?"  
There was a silence. the three men looked at each other, while the rest of the team looked at the three men.  
A cell phone rang. Cobb looked, his dad called. He had some explaining to do.

After two days, searching the internet. Much was concluded. the man named the doctor was seen all through history, The assassination of J.F Kennedy, the fall of the Berlin wall. even in a submarine during the cold war. Yet had different faces, thirteen faces to be exact.  
thirteen pictures were now placed on the whiteboard. including a list of items he had carried and friends who travelled with him.  
"Is this all we could find?" Ariadne looked at the photos.  
"Yes, unless we go in the deep web, but that will take years to spit out. why?"  
"Isn't there anything that explains why eleven men are scattered throughout history, all carrying the same name?"  
"No, but i think we have a great chance of finding him in cardiff."  
everybody looked at Yusuf, who was looking at the list of locations they found the blue box.

The doctor stood up, his face still dark. and slowly walked to the console, he looked at the last name on the list. Amelia pond. The girl who waited.  
Hiding his face in his hand he sobbed quietly.


	4. the blue box

Arriving in Cardiff, a base was quickly found. an apartment building near the bay. where the penthouse was unoccupied.  
"So what do we do now? I mean. after we have set up the base. how to we prepare for his arrival?" Eames looked out of the window while saying this.  
"Arthur and i already talked about that on the plane, and the best plan is… to knock."  
Eames looked at Cobb. "Knock?"  
"When inside we should be able to release a sedating gas while he is distracted. then we can slip away and come back when he is asleep."  
"then where will we perform inception? I mean. that box can only hold one man. "  
"It is rumoured to be bigger on the inside."  
Eames looked skeptical. "Bigger on the inside? Are you joking?"  
Cobb and Arthur looked at Eames. their faces filled with meaning.

The next day the team stood on watch. Hoping the box would come soon. Ariadne still looking at the blueprints for the dream levels, designed by Cobb's boss. in the midday the team decided to leave the apartment. looking for a place to have lunch. when they returned. they saw the most impossible thing.  
"You are got to be kidding me." Eames backed away. and ran towards the apartment building.  
between two pillars. the stood a big blue box. A police telephone box. not noticed by anybody except them.  
the team stood in silence. half in shock, half waiting for Eames to come back. after a minute he returned, have a gas grenade in his hand and the suitcase holding the PASIV device in the other.  
"Ready?" His face filled with fear and excitement.  
Leaving the PASIV with the team, Eames slowly walked up to the box, Cobb noticed a gas mask hanging from the back of his pants. Eames held the grenade behind his back and knocked.

The doctor couldn't take it anymore. he flipped the lever right from him and the TARDIS took off. When arrived the Cobalt file disappeared and got replaced with a message showing that the engines were refueling.  
After looking at the message for a minute, the doctor took a deep breath before moving to the door, he wanted something to eat. and the fries in this period of time were quite good. before being able to place his hand on the knob there was a knock on the door. The doctor was surprised. He slowly opened the door. revealing a man looking as surprised as him.

Cobb saw that the door was open, yet couldn't see inside. after a while Eames still seemed to be talking, he responded to something and went inside. Cobb slowly walked closer to the box. gesturing to the others to follow. he waited near the box for a minute. after which the doors opened. There stood Eames, pulling the gas mask of his face and revealing a face showing patterns of wonder.  
"Don't say anything. i don't want you boasting over that you knew." Saying that he went further inside. The team followed.  
"How is this possible?" Yusuf was completely baffled.

It was indeed amazing, in the middle of the round room stood a glass pillar with blue rods inside. at the top of the pillar were three rotating white rings with a kind of drawings on them. attached to the pillar was a sort of table with buttons and levers, at the sides of the round platform they were standing on three more tables stood with buttons and levers. at the wall of the room was a walkway with pillars besides it, at eye level with the walkway was a strip of lights running across the room. the most amazing fact was that it was bigger than this, as there was a corridor leading out in the back,,

"I've read about this once." Adriane said. "Basicly you would step in another dimension. which you could stretch infinitely far."  
Arthur looked at Eames "How did you manage to get inside?"  
"I said something about being with UNIT, that sort of investigation thing we found. He didn't really seemed to care though. He seemed really really sad."  
"Oh my god." Yusuf was looking at the doctor.  
"What?" Cobb stood behind him. Looking up from the screen attached to the central pillar.  
"He.. he has two hearts. This dude is an alien."  
The team looked at Yusuf, not believing what he said.  
Cobb crouched besides him "Does that mean the sedative won't work?"

"I think it will still affect him, but can't be sure."  
The team stood silent for a moment. Looking at each other.  
"Whatever happened. he won't die, is that right?" Eames looked worried.  
"I don't know, the serum hasn't changed. but it's sure doesn't have any defense. otherwise we would have found that he had.. but maybe we have to go deeper than three layers with him."  
The team looked at each other, a bit skeptical about the defense.  
"We know how to get out of limbo, so the best thing is to simply try. Isn't it?" Ariadne said.  
The team agreed after a minute. everyone started getting ready.  
After pressing the button Cobb went to sleep, hoping Arthur had prepared the kick.  
The sedative reached his arm.  
darkness.


	5. the confidential file

The doctor sat in the library. he looked up, knowing something was wrong. He stood up, placing the book he was reading besides him and walked to the door. While looking in the corridor, he heard voices echoing a few corridors away.  
"Where are we?"  
"I don't know. Ariadne, you studied the interiors. where are we?"  
"It's a sort of ship. But there were supposed to be people."  
The doctor slowly walked towards the voices. getting his sonic ready. he walked in the corridor with the voices. there was a group of people. four men and one girl. they looked scared when they saw him.  
"May i ask what you are doing here?"  
No one of the group responded.  
"because it's quite rare that i see people in the TARDIS that i didn't let in."  
The doctor walked in their direction. scanning the group with his sonic.  
"Oh. that is not good."  
One of the group slowly asked "What is?"  
The doctor looked back at the group, scanning them again before he spoke again.  
"What did you do?"  
The group didn't respond.  
"What have you done? We are in an uncontrolled TARDIS matrix, we have one hour until everything falls apart!"

someone of the group slowly spoke "We used a certain drug that allows synchronised dreaming."  
The doctor was angry."And it never came up in you to check if there was any form of psychic network already present in the TARDIS? YOU IDIOTS!"  
The group looked a bit ashamed.  
"Leave it. Which one of you designed this place?"  
The girl slowly raised her arm.  
"You. What's your name?"  
"Ariadne..."  
"Ariadne. is anywhere in this maze a console room?"  
Ariadne seemed to think a second before answering "There is one, yes. But it's very hard to get to…"  
"We better get moving then." The doctor went inside a corridor. "Also, may i know the names of you people?"  
the group walked behind him. slightly confused they called their names.  
"So, mister Cobb. you seem to be the leader, Why did you do it?"  
Cobb looked confused at the doctor "What do you mean?"  
"Why did they want you to do inception on me?"

"You know about inception?"  
"unfortunately i do, Ariadne, where to now?"  
"It's a right as soon as you can and after 700 meters left, what do you mean you already know Inception?"  
"Hacked into your company remember? Didn't like what i found." The doctor's voice turned dark.  
after a minute of silence the group and the doctor entered a room with in the middle the architectural reconfiguration system.  
"Why this room? come on sexy, this isn't you."  
"This room shouldn't be here. There should still be corridor for 500 meters."  
The doctor looked at Ariadne. "It's my subconscious taking over the design. Instead of people populating the dream. I fill it with rooms."  
the group slowly walked around the tree. Yusuf asked what it was.  
"Architectural reconfiguration system, it reconstructs particles according to your need."  
"But, that's impossible."  
"It's also impossible that you're talking to an alien in a box that is bigger on the inside. Do try to keep perspective."  
Yusuf didn't really seem to listen, yet just looked at the tree.  
"We should be going. Because the matrix is uncontrolled it will reinvent the architecture every minute."  
The group looked a bit frightened. they went into another corridor. This one was a bit shorter than the other, the door at the end was still closed.

Cobb slowly reached to open the door. When the door opened it revealed a round room. Much like the last one, except in the middle lay a piece of paper instead of the tree.  
When the doctor walked in he froze. Staring in terror at that piece of paper he hated so much. His face grew dark again. His eyes lost their glimmer.  
"A piece of paper?" Arthur walked towards it and picked it up. "With names.."  
The doctor interrupted him. ""Of everyone i lost. Including dates and location." His voice broken. "Susan..." There was an echo of a young girl, too faint to understand.  
"Adric, Ace, Sarah Jane..." More echoes, each one a little bit clearer.  
"And Amelia Pond, the girl who waited..." The doctor's voice broke up even more. An echo was heard, now clear enough to understand. "We are in space!" The doctor stood silent. A tear running down his face.  
Arthur looked terrified at the file. His eyes scanning the names.  
"This is the confidential file? The losses someone had to endure?"  
"It's not that what makes it's dangerous." The doctor's voice still dark. "Cobalt discovered a rudimentary form of time travel, kept off every document except that one."  
the doctor gestured a bit helplessly to the paper  
Arthur looked back at the paper. Reading the document, clearly looking at the dates.  
The doctor moved to the door. "We should be going. The memories in this room are too heavy."  
The doctor opened the door. Revealing a scarred dalek.  
"The doctor? Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Run!"


	6. back in the byzantium

The group ran through the door at the other side of the room, and closed it when the doctor was through. Hearing a shot hit the door.  
"What was that thing?" Eame stared at the door.  
"Like i said. My subconscious is taking over the matrix, not only changing the architecture, but also showing my friends, and enemies."  
"Is there anything you can do about it?"  
"unless we get to the console room, no."  
Cobb quickly glanced at the other end of the corridor. "Ariadne, in the original design, is there any shortcut?"  
"Well, underneath the normal corridors there are.."  
The doctor interrupted her. "The maintenance halls."  
She looked at the doctor. "How do you know?"  
"This layout is based on the original layout of the TARDIS. So there should be a entrance in the next room."  
The doctor opened the next door, revealing an indoor forest, completely overgrown.

"is this a room of your ship?" Cobb slowly walked inside. Clearly trying to see the other side.  
"The matrix is disintegrating, this room shouldn't be here."  
Arthur looked at one of the trees seeing the wires inside. "What is this place?"  
The doctor walked towards him. "Cyborg trees, they provide power and oxygen, but this room isn't part of the TARDIS. If the matrix now also shows the locations i've been to, we are in big, big trouble."  
Ariadne looked at the doctor "It's not that bad, isn't it? I mean, eventually we find a way to the maintenance halls."  
The doctor looked around. "That's not the problem. These rooms will also house the enemies i've encountered there."  
Eames stood behind a tree, looking at a statue. "What is it with these statues?  
The doctor turned, his face filled with terror. "Don't move!  
He slowly moved to Eames. Not breaking eye contact with the angel.  
"This is a weeping angel, it will only move when you're not looking at it."  
Eames laughed. "You joking? That monster back there i could believe. But statues that move?"  
"Quantum lock. They turn into stone when observed."  
Eames slowly walked backwards. the doctor following him. Eames blinked.

And directly jumped backwards. The angel moved. Now looking back at him.  
"Tha... that thing moved!"  
"Yes, i know. What we should do is try to get to the other side of the woods and try to leave the angels behind."  
The group stared at the angel. Afraid to let it move again.  
"I know the quickest way around. Now if we all just get away slowly without breaking eye contact."  
The group slowly walked away, Eames and Arthur looking behind them. While the rest looked besides or in front of the group. The doctor walked in front, scanning with his sonic to find the other door.  
"Doctor? What is that thing you are using?"  
The doctor looked at yusuf. A bit confused.  
"It's a sonic screwdriver. A nice little gadget i build a long time ago. Can do almost anything!"  
"Except what?"  
The doctor looked annoyed.  
"Wood! It doesn't do wood. I'm still working on that one.  
The doctor peeked behind him. Seeing Yusuf smile a bit. He should really make a function for wood when this is all over.


	7. saying goodbye one more time

After ten minutes the group finally was at the edge of the forest. The doctor aimed his sonic at the lock and opened it. Helping the others through, not breaking eye contact with the forest.  
Once inside the doctor closed the door again. Not letting any angel through.  
After that the group opened the door to a corridor, went inside and opened the second door.  
"A kitchen. Okay." Eames directly went to the fridge.  
Ariadne turned to the doctor. "Is it possible to enter the maintenance halls from here?"  
"Yes. I just need to open the door leading to it."  
"There isn't any beer here!" Eames looked infuriated in the fridge. Clearly hoping to have missed a bottle.  
"I don't keep any alcohol in my TARDIS." The doctor said annoyed. "It wouldn't matter anyway. We're in a dream, remember?"  
As the doctor went to open the door he saw Eames closing the fridge irritated.

After a minute everyone was in the maintenance halls and quick progress was being made. Five minutes later the doctor aimed his sonic at a door, opening a passage to the console.  
"Guests go first!" The doctor had a big smile on his face.  
The doctor waited before everyone was through and climbed out himself.  
"Now, let's begin giving the TARDIS control over the matrix again."  
The doctor started disabling the safety and passed the control back to the original owner.  
"Now all we have to do is open the matrix and we can go."  
The doctor pushed the last button and a familiar sound started to appear.

"Lady and gentlemen. The way out."  
The TARDIS appeared before the group. Their faces filled with amazement.  
Now just step through and we'll be back in the real world.  
The group went through one by one. The doctor last. Before he was able to step inside he heard a familiar voice.

"If you are a doctor, why does your box say police?"

The doctor's smile faded. He turned around. Seeing little Amelia pond, ready to fly away. He closed his eyes. Tears on his face again. When he opened his eyes she was gone. The last bit of uncontrolled matrix now gone, the doctor stood motionless for a few minutes, turned around slowly and stepped in the TARDIS.

Cobb waked up, seeing the pillar of the ship again. He stood up, seeing his team members slowly opening their eyes. The doctor was at the door, staring outside. Cobb walked towards him, seeing they were in space.  
"We're in the region of space where my home planet originally was, i hoped it would help me relax."  
Cobb looked a moment before asking something.  
"Why did they have that file of you?"  
"Money, of course. They hoped that i would tell them what to do to get the most money. But they never took time loops and paradoxes into consideration. If i told them i would change what i'd seen, and create a paradox"  
Cobb stared into space. trying to understand what the doctor just said.  
"You can go home. I'll sort it out with Cobalt engineering. The company has been crossing lines for too long now."  
Cobb looked at the doctor. Seeing the sadness in face.

Cobb slowly walked back to his team, who were looking at the conversation.  
"Cobb, can we trust him with Cobalt?"  
Cobb looked at arthur. Seeing the worry in his face.  
"He broke into Cobalt and stole their most guarded file. I think he can handle it."  
In the meantime the doctor already was pulling levers and pressing buttons. The ship shook a bit before standing still again.  
"We're back in Cardiff. You've been away for about five minutes now."

The doctor walked to the door. opening it and revealing Cardiff bay.  
The team walked outside. Looking around.  
"I'll be off then."  
The doctor stepped back into the TARDIS.  
"Doctor, will we be seeing you again?"  
The doctor looked at Cobb.  
"Who knows. But you have a great gift Cobb, use it well."  
The doors closed. Leaving Cobb and his team looking at the blue box.  
Suddenly a wheezing, groaning sound started and the box disappeared. Slowly, leaving nothing behind.

A few weeks later the front page was covered in 'the Cobalt scandal'. Cobb's dad looked at him. Cobb told him about the doctor, they looked at each other. Knowing up there is a lonely man looking over this planet in his blue box.


End file.
